The relative humidity of indoor air has been found to greatly affect human comfort and health. Hot dry air has an affinity for moisture and removes moisture from the membranes of the nose and throat making humans subject to various respiratory diseases, coughing, nose and throat irritations and the like. Forced air furnaces are the most common form of heating apparatus for heating indoor air and air heated in this manner absorbs moisture from the surrounding air to cause low relative humidity or unreasonable dry indoor air conditions. In addition to human discomfort and a potential unhealthy situation, dry room air results in drying out and cracking of structures, static electricity associated with the carpet or the like. Numerous attempts have heretofore been made to provide air humidifying devices, apparatuses and methods to add moisture to the indoor air.
In known prior air humidifying devices, apparatus and methods the most frequently used techniques involve evaporation of water off a water surface in a water pan or a porous material. Some attempts have been made to use spray atomizers that produce water particles to be evaporated into the air but these are most frequently sprayed into the hot air side. Some air humidifying apparatus is made a part of the furnace and in some instances the moisture is introduced into the cold air side of the furnace and in others on the hot air side. A number of humidifying room units have also been provided that are entirely separate and independent from that of the furnace.
Included among the more serious problems of introducing moisture into the air and particularly the heated air side of forced air system is the formation of lime and other mineral deposits which clog up the apparatus. Also included in a number of humidifiers are float valves, evaporating pads, control solenoids, blower motors, humidistats and like complex special controls which of course increase cost of purchase and maintenance.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel air humidifying apparatus and method for adding controlled quantities of moisture to a body of air in an improved, highly efficient and highly effective manner.
Another object of this invention is to provide novel humidifying apparatus that is relatively simple in construction and operation with relatively few parts, is comparatively maintenance free, is economical to manufacture, and can be installed relatively easily on conventional existing forced air furnaces or furnished as a separate room humidifying unit independent from the furnace and duct system.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide novel continuously operable humidifying apparatus and method characterized by a continuous flow of water, the production of a mist of finely divided water particles, the selection of smaller sizes of finely divided water particles from the mist that readily evaporate into a body of air at room temperatures without condensation on adjacent walls and rejecting of larger water particle sizes and minerals and foreign matter that does not readily evaporate in a stream or body of air.
Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a novel relatively simple humidifying apparatus and method that avoids appreciable amounts of mineral or precipitate buildup that might otherwise cause plugging and require maintenance, avoids complex and costly control instruments such as float valves, hydrostat, humidistat, control solenoids, transformers, blowers, electric switches and the like.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a novel humidifying apparatus and method that is readily adjusted to regulate the moisture being added to room air and may be operated continuously on a forced air furnace independent of the operation of forced air furnace and does not impair the normal operation of the furnace.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel air humidifying method and apparatus that readily removes unwanted water particle sizes, dirt or other foreign matter in the water prior to vaporizing and passing them through the heat exchange of a furnace.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel air humidifying method and apparatus that may afford maximum, moisturizing of the room air during furnace operation and a lesser moisturizing of the room air when the furnace blower is not running.
Still another objext of the present invention is to provide a novel air humidifying apparatus and method characterized by the use of a fresh, continuously flowing supply of water at normal tap pressures and to form a continuous spray of finely divided water particles, the selection of the water particles that are capable of being evaporated into a stream of air at normal room temperatures by the regulation of the amount of an updraft, the evaporation of the selected water particles into a stream of air so that they vaporize and remain suspended in the air as a vapor and do not condense on duct walls and the like and the removal of the larger unwanted water particles and foreign matter by gravity forces which pass in a countercurrent flow to the updraft and through a drain hole.